Parmagianino's Mirror

With no prior knowledge of the life and works of Giralamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, more commonly known as “Parmagianino,” the viewer of one of his most classic pieces, “Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror,” is able to appreciate the unique qualities of perspective depicted in the piece. The heavily set, circular frame causes confusion in the perception of the viewer, creating the appearance of a convex mirror. Light and darkness spiral to the center, emphasized by the radially distorted features. The light cast on Parmigianino’s face, from the window to the left changes the coloration between his pale, delicate hand and his soft featured face, making his face seem to glow in the center of the painting. The ruffled shirt worn by the artist has an extraordinarily detailed cuff, yet the rest of it is characterized by its simplicity and lack of vibrancy. These details force the eye towards the center of the piece drawing attention to Parmigianino’s face. The expectation of looking into a mirror is disrupted; in this piece, the viewer sees instead Parmigianino’s reflection in the mirror.
The viewer does not feel the sensation that they are being drawn into the painting, but they are looking through the eyes of the artist. This image forces the viewer to wonder why the man’s hand is not seen on the outside of the mirror, when it appears to be almost touching the mirror’s surface in the reflection. The painting is quite obviously not the typical “window” into a room, with a Cartesian vanishing point. The disproportionate physical features such as the artist's elongated fingers and enlarged arm opposed to the miniature facial features effectively create the illusion of a convex mirror. However, the viewer does not expect the walls, the window, or the furniture shown at the edge of the painting to continue outward past the frame, as in the Dutch paintings shown in class. These objects instead are expected to be behind the viewer, with the painting acting as a mirror. Rather than draw the viewer into the painting, the painting is projected outward into the room around the viewer.